Notes from CoALA Instruction Unconference 2014
CoALA Instruction Unconference - 2014 at Regis University The CoALA Unconference hosted approximately 30 attendees from various academic institutions across Colorado. The format of the Unconference gives attendees a chance to discuss current topics and issues that relate to the library profession which include: Instruction, Assessment, Use of Technology in the Classroom, How to Engage Faculty and Market the library (services & resources), New Information Literacy Framework (Draft). Librarians were from institutions across the state including: Arapahoe Community College, Pikes Peak Community College, Kraemer Family Library-UC Colorado Springs, Regis University, University of Northern Colorado, Adams State University, Western State Colorado University, Colorado Mountain College, CSU-Pueblo, Colorado College, Colorado Christian, and Gene Hainer from the State Library. The day started with attendees deciding on what burning question(s) they would like to discuss over the course of the Unconference. Sessions would run around an hour or if the conversation needed to go longer,it did. Asynchronous instruction to reach distance students started off the conversation and how best practices in technology help students better understand how to use the library. Technology such as Adobe Connect allows students to attend synchronous instruction for one-shot bibliographic instruction. Other examples include credit-bearing courses taught at institutions as well as instruction spread out through the semester rather than one 50-minute session in the beginning only. Why not 3 or 4/fifteen to twenty minute library instruction sessions; showing up at different points of the research process? Other questions about one-shot bi’s: What do you teach when no assignment attached · Active learning sessions, games to help them understand difference between pop. v scholarly · Help them understand and develop a research question · Carol Smith gave the example of using a problem-based learning model by using case studies research · Citation Relay from UNC help students understand how to cite their sources while having fun. They encouraged implementing a badge system to give students something to take home e.g. buttons. More info: http://libguides.unco.edu/citerelay · Fiction writing exercise with supportive evidence from scholarly sources to help create in-text citations and to relax and enjoy writing & research process · Gene Hainer from the Colorado State Library asked, do you feel students in your classroom have the skill set and are academically prepared to handle and do college level research & writing? The consensus was that students were not prepared for the academic rigors of college level research. Discussion surrounded how librarians use technology-Prezi. Prezi does not currently use Flash and will not migrate to HTML 5 which makes it unstable and difficult to use on tablets and other handheld devices. Work around suggestions include using CAMTASIA and uploading them to YouTube which you can embed captions; Adobe Captivate also allow librarians to create asynchronous tutorials. An example of home-grown tutorials is the “Guide on the Side” created by University of Arizona: http://code.library.arizona.edu/ A question asked of Gene Hainer about the service AskColorado/Academic-why will it be cancelled at the end of this year? Answer: It is cost prohibitive and not enough questions to support the service let alone 24/7 service. It costs about $30 per question. Participants discussed alternatives to continue to offer AskAcademic by partnering together. Other librarians mentioned the problem of applying a ROI business model over a service that libraries provide is a wrong step in measuring the value. Questions about who can host this service to continue to make it available. The fluidity of the Unconference format has taken participants from speaking about staffing chat issues to email service replacing it and other topics including: advantages of asynchronous/synchronous tutorials, face-to-face instruction (assignment based/no assignment). Break for lunch The second half of the Instruction Unconference started with the discussion about Assessment and where do I begin? Questions you want to consider before any assessment project: · What do you want to get out of the assessment? · What do you want to learn? · If you can’t act on the results, then why do the assessment? Assessments and the results can always be used as a bargaining tool using quantifiable data to support a product or service There is a push in some universities to record student’s identity-when they ask questions or tracing database usage by major. Many at the Unconference believe this is a slippery slope towards tracking student use of resources. How do librarians know what is relevant in classes and where are the students in their understanding of library resources? Should in-coming students be required to watch a library tutorial? A common practice for some librarians is a simple red card/green card to get a quick assessment of where your students are in understanding what libraries do and what students know. Gene Hainer mentioned the LRS-Library Research Services would be interested in a study of academic libraries for example, what do students wants vs what do faculty want? They would conduct a statewide survey. Other discussions revolved around the Information Literacy Standards going to “Framework.” How does this impact our conversation with faculty who do not believe in the value of libraries? “Standards” were adopted by higher education whereas the new Framework is in the beginning stages of implementation -“draft.” How do we implement the new Framework into our BI sessions? Other topics discussed: Curriculum mapping for the four years of the students’ academic career; beginning with introductory to capstone. Action Items to follow-up with meetings and suggestions: · Alternatives to closing AskAcademic · LRS topics to assess · Follow-up information from Carol Smith at Adams State University in pursuit of Faculty Status for librarians · Hosting a focus group with faculty - what are their expectations of the library and what do they know what the library can do for them and their students Wrap-up & what attendees benefitted from the Instruction Unconference · Faculty engagement and marketing · Power of sharing and knowing what other institutions are doing · Liked staying in one group rather than breaking off into independent sessions · We were reminded of similar issues that arise no matter what institution you are from · It was beneficial to discuss what we do in our discipline · Assessment and “Am I too comfortable” with BI’s? · Networking-sharing of resources and information · Teaching is a long-term process · As a new librarian appreciated the community surrounding librarians · Standards/Framework – appreciates the introduction to the Framework and Lindsay Robert’s handout developed to better understand the Draft Framework · Teaching tips: Red/green flash cards · Examples of using Case Studies for business classes when no assignment attached to BI’s · Important take away Implement a syllabus audit at their institution to better gauge when to embed a library research component and a way to tailor to the class